6 essential Lightroom edits you can apply to every image

One of the main difficulties when learning how to use an image editing tool, a new camera, or almost any new technology, is how to get started. Let’s face it, the best part of having a new thing is using it, not reading about it.

Most of us don’t want to sift through the manual and spend hours learning every feature of our new purchase, we just want to get to grips with a few fundamentals and dive in.

This is a workflow that, regardless of the image content, you’ll find is the backbone of most Lightroom image editing. What’s more, mastering these Lightroom essentials creates the confidence to go on and explore other more advanced tools.

Lightroom edits for any image: 01 Import the image

Importing an image simply tells Lightroom where it is stored on your computer. Open Lightroom, then click the Library Module. Either click the Import button and find the image using the source options, or simply drag it into the Library interface. Select the file and hit Import.

Lightroom edits for any image: 02 Basic adjustments

Click Develop from the list of Modules, then go to the Basic panel on the right. Work your way down through the sliders. Having a full range of tones from black to white improves most images, so hold Alt and drag the whites slider until just before pixels appear. Repeat with the blacks.

Top Tip – Use Auto Import!
If you want to bypass the Import dialog altogether, you could simply set Auto Import so Lightroom always knows where to find your files.

Go to File>Auto Import>Auto Import settings, then choose a folder to ‘Watch’ (such as your Pictures folder). Now whenever you copy images into the stated folder, Lightroom will automatically import them. If you like, you can even choose to automatically apply presets and colour settings.